In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad, for it sets one person against another and it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit （追求） of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society.
Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by them is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth.
Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve （缓解） can we discover a new meaning in competition.The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 refers to those who ______.
| A．are against competition most strongly. | B．are fond of competition very much. |
| C．are satisfied with competition. | D．are interested in competition |
According to the passage, why do some people support competition?
A．Because they think friendly relationship needs it. k+s-5#u |
| B．Because they think social progress and prosperity need it. |
| C．Because they think it can make us become cleverer. |
| D．Because they think it can deal with many personal problems. |
We can learn from the passage that __________.
| A．all the people have the same opinion about competition |
| B．Failure can make most people feel down |
| C．Both the true competitors and those with a desire to fail believe one’s worth lies in his performance compared with others |
| D．Competition can make every competitor successful |
The passage manly talks about different opinions about ________.
| A．competition | B．success | C．failure | D．friendship |
People have been listening to music to get in the mood for hundreds of years. Recently, there is scientific research to back up what we have always known about music. The studies have shown that when people are excited or happy they are more helpful. The opposite happens when people feel aggressive(好斗的) or under stress. The use of music can influence how helpful people can be.
Dr Adrian North made a study with 256 university students. Half the group took exercise in the gymnasium listening to music which can bring happiness and the other half exercised to aggressive music. When leaving the gym, the students were asked to hand out flyers (传单) in support of the local disabled athlete’s foundation.
The results showed that nearly half of the group that listened to happy music were willing to hand out flyers. But in the group that heard the aggressive music, less than 20% were willing. This study suggests that our choice of music can influence our willingness to cooperate(合作).
While a study also shows that productivity (生产效率) can increase with the right choice of background music in the workplace. As music stimulates (刺激) workers’ minds, job satisfaction is often positively influenced. Other studies have shown that workers who are in a good mood report more job satisfaction than those in a bad mood.
These studies show that music can have a powerful influence on a person’s ability to cooperate. Moods have a direct influence on cooperation and job satisfaction, etc. These factors also have a direct relationship to the success of a business.The underlined words “back up” in the paragraph can be replaced by _____.
| A．support | B．leave | C．refuse | D．compare |
In the studies mentioned in the passage, music is used to _____.
| A．express people’s ideas | B．change people’s moods |
| C．improve people’s health | D．show people’s love of arts |
According to the passage, people who are in a good mood _____.
| A．can understand the music | B．have a good taste in music |
| C．might do well in their work | D．are influenced by others |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．effort and success | B．music and science |
| C．work and life | D．music and mood |
Started in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest of many colleges and universities in the United States. Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Dartmouth were all started before the American Revolution made the thirteen colonies(殖民地) into states.
In the early years, these schools were much alike. Only young men attended colleges. All the students studied the same subjects, and everyone learned Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Little was known about science then, and one kind of school could teach everything that was known about the world. When the students graduated, most of them became ministers or teachers.
In 1782, Harvard started a medical school for young men who wanted to become doctors. Later, lawyers(律师) could receive their training in Harvard’s law school. In 1852, Harvard began teaching modern languages, such as French and German, as well as Latin and Greek. Soon it began teaching American history.
As knowledge increased, Harvard and other colleges began to teach many new subjects that interested them.
Special colleges for women were started. New state universities began to teach such subjects as farming, engineering and business. Today, there are many different kinds of colleges and universities. Most of them are divided into smaller schools that deal with special fields of learning. There is so much to learn that one kind of school cannot offer it all. Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Dartmouth were the names of the _______ in America.
| A．states | B．cities | C．universities | D．colonies |
As knowledge increased, colleges began to teach _______.
| A．everything that is known | B．many new subjects |
| C．French and German | D．farming |
The title of this passage should be _______.
| A．Famous Harvard University |
| B．American Universities |
| C．The Changing of American Universities |
| D．The American Revolution |
Which statement does the passage lead you to believe?
| A．The early schools are still much alike. |
| B．There is more to learn today than in 1636. |
| C．All the early students worked harder. |
| D．Students in modern America learn only science. |
If you’re among the millions of Americans packing their vocation bags for summer trips, don’t forget, however, that as soon as you step off the plane, you’re expected to follow that country’s laws. We took a look at one of the top countries Americans are most likely to visit and what might happen if you got caught.
Mexico
Smoking marijuana(大麻): If police find you smoking a cigarette which contains marijuana, they will most likely detain you overnight and you will get a fine.
Carrying a firearm: You might be able to walk around with a gun in Texas, but that isn’t so in Mexico, so leave your gun behind. If you wish to go hunting in Mexico, you can apply for a gun permit but are expected to be charged $5,000. If you are caught bringing a firearm, Mexican policeman may take away your car and arrest you. An arrested American may spend months in prison while his or her case is being looked into.
Driving 70 mph on the highway: Speed limits are on the lower side. Depending on what type of highway you’re driving on, you shouldn’t go faster than 60mph. The police enforce (执行) the speed limit, but most local police don’t have radars(无线电探测器). The maximum fine for speeding is about $40. To scare (吓得某人做……) tourists into paying the fine “on the spot”, sometimes police will threaten to keep your driver’s license (驾照). This is illegal.Which of the following statements are not true?
| A．The laws in Texas are different from the ones in Mexico. |
| B．People will be fined if they smoke marijuana. |
| C．People will be arrested if they are caught bringing a gun. |
| D．The police in Mexico have the right to keep the drivers’ license. |
If the travelers want to drive in Mexico, they should _______.
| A．drive on the lower side of the street |
| B．keep an eye out on the radars |
| C．limit their car speed |
| D．pay the fine on the spot. |
The word “detain” in the second paragraph means：____．
| A．arrest | B．fine | C．punish | D．destroy |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．Different countries have different regulations． |
| B．Different countries have the same regulations． |
| C．Americans like to visit other countries． |
| D．Mexico police aren't friendly． |
Janice is an American engineer working in Nanjing. She and her husband George, who is teaching English at a university, have been eager to get to know Chinese people better, so they were pleased when Liu, Janice’s young co-worker, invited them to her home for dinner.
When they arrived, Liu introduced them to her husband Yang and asked them to sit down at a table containing eight plates of various cold dishes. Half an hour later she came back and sat down and the three began to eat. Yang came in from time to time, putting hot dishes on the table. Most of the food was wonderful, though neither George nor Janice could eat the fatty pork, and there was much more than they could eat. They kept wishing Yang would sit down so they could talk to him. Finally he did sit down to eat a bit, but soon it was time to go home.
Janice and George felt slightly depressed by this experience, but returned the invitation two weeks later. They decided to make a nice American meal and felt lucky to find olives, crackers(脆饼), tomato juice, and even some cheese in the shop. They put these out as appetizers（开胃品）. For the main course they prepared spaghetti and a salad.
When Liu and Yang arrived and began to have dinner, they took small tastes of the appetizers and seemed surprised when both George and Janice sat down with them. They ate only a little spaghetti and didn’t finish the salad on their plates. After a while, George cleared the table and served coffee and pastries(糕点). Yang and Liu each put four spoons of sugar into their coffee but didn’t drink much of it and ate only a bite or two of pastry.
After they left, George and Janice were upset. “ We left their place so full but they’re going to have to eat again when they get home. What went wrong?What do we know about the dinner at Liu’s home?
| A．It lasted about half an hour. |
| B．There were eight dishes in all. |
| C．the hot dishes were mainly cooked by Yang. |
| D．Many dishes were cooked in American style. |
Why did the American couple feel a bit depressed after dinner at Liu’s home?
| A．They received a cold welcome. |
| B．The fatty pork was not delicious. |
| C．The dinner was not well prepared. |
| D．Yang spent little time talking with them. |
During the dinner at Janice’s home, Liu and Yang _______.
| A．found little food to enjoy. |
| B．ate much salad and pastry. |
| C．drank a lot of coffee with much sugar. |
| D．showed much interest in American food. |
The text is most likely to be found in a book about _______.
| A．cooking skills | B．cultural differences |
| C．language learning | D．business management |
A little boy went to a farmer who had some puppies (小狗）to sell and said, “I want to buy one of your puppies.” Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. “I’ve got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look.”
“Sure,” said the farmer. Then he called his dog, “Here, Dolly!”
Out from the doghouse and down the ramp(斜坡) ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight.
As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else moving inside the doghouse. Slowly, another little ball appeared. This one was much smaller than the others. Down the ramp it slid(滑行). Then in a somewhat awkward manner the little pup began hobbling(蹒跚) toward the others, doing its best to catch up…
“I want that one,” the little boy said, pointing to the slow dog.
The farmer knelt down at the boy’s side and said, “Son, you don’t want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs will.”
With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of trousers. There was a steel brace(支架) running down both sides of his leg. It was joined to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, “You see, sir, I don’t run very well myself, and he will need someone who understands.”
The world is full of people who need someone who understands. It can be inferred that “Dolly” in the passage was _______.
| A．a mother dog | B．the little boy’s name |
| C．the farmer’s son | D．one of the puppies |
How many puppies did the farmer have in all?
| A．3 | B．4 | C．5 | D．6 |
The little boy decided to buy the smallest puppy because _______.
| A．he was disabled and decided to be a vet (兽医) to cure it |
| B．he knew the smallest puppy needed understanding and care most |
| C．he liked puppies that were unable to run fast |
| D．he didn’t have enough money to buy a different one |